I don’t often venture too far down Hepburn Road, but am very glad indeed that I did so on this occasion, because I was greeted by this wonderful protrait by Pekoe. The observant among you will also notice the oil drum has been decorated by Ryder.
Pekoe, Hepburn Road, Bristol, July 2019
Pekoe seems to be producing quite a lot of work at the moment and with each piece there are surprises and improvements. In this one she has made a great effort with decorating the hair in a style that resembles a nimber of PWA artists. I like what she has done with the lips and the eye, using white to create the effect of reflections. A little gem from this Bristol artist.
It somehow always feels special finding an Inkie piece, probably because his work is so well known and sought after, and yet here he is creating something magical in Dean Land skate park.
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
This beautiful piece features one of Inkie’s trademark profile portraits of a girl with long flowing locks of hair and some block writing INK. When I look at this, I can’t make up my mind which way her body is facing, towards us or away from us, I think the latter.
Inkie, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2019
It is not all that long ago when this wall lost a whole ton of its render and years of paint layers. I thought the wall might be doomed, but somehow looking at it now, you wouldn’t eve know it had happened. Lovely work from Inkie.
So it has been a while, and since there isn’t an Upfest festival this year, I am going to have to post another series of pictures from Upfest 2018 (there are still so many more waiting) starting with this utterly awesome piece by Insane51.
Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This extraordinary artist from Greece specialises in 3D street art and has created dozens of huge pieces which look fuzzy because they are double images, but when viewed through the red and blue specs stand out from the wall in good old-fashioned 3D.
Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This particular piece went up over about three or four days and was impressive enough in its halfway stage when the female portrait was complete. Insane51 then added the blue skeleton layer to the piece. The magic really happens when you view the whole thing through 3D specs one eye at a time. Rather helpfully, Insane51 did the job for us on his Instagram feed.
Insane51, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Definitely one of the finest walls at last year’s festival and a real crowd-pleaser. I got rather lucky and managed to grab a few words with him and during the course of our conversation he gave me a little goody bag of some stickers and the essential cardboard specs. It would be great to see him return again and wow us with his extraordinary talents.
In a small alley off Stokes Croft called Hepburn Road (former drug dealing centre of Bristol) is (was) this intriguing piece by Nightways who seems to have cast off the winter doldrums and has become very active in recent weeks.
Nightwayss, Hepburn Road, Bristol, May 2019
Unfortunately this two-tone piece was bombed fairly quickly, so I was lucky to get a clean picture of it. The painting is of a woman holding a strand of her hair from which a tiny little monkey is dangling, thus ensuring that there is some ‘monkeyness’ in the piece, which is what we have come to expect from Nightways. I met him last weekend, painting with Laic217 in Moon Street, and there is another of his pieces that I can’t wait to share with you. Nice work.
You have no idea how much pleasure Hazard’s work gives me. It always seems to be so uplifting and beautiful and has a purity about it that is unusual in street art. This is a wonderful piece completed perhaps a couple of weeks ago on the hoardings of a development on Wilder Street.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019
I remember that the first Hazard piece I saw was at Upfest 2016 I think, and I remember commenting on how she combines a beautiful portrait with interesting and elaborate hair decorations, and she does the same thing here. The feathers are just an additional delight to ponder.
Hazard, Wilder Street, Bristol, May 2019
I love the skin tones in this piece which run from tans through to oranges and yellow on the cheeks. A classy work that conveys innocence and mystery combined. Thank you Harriet for brightening up the streets of Bristol, and come back from your travels safely.
A new Mexican cantina has opened up in Stokes Croft called Masa and Mezcal where the old MEATliquor use to be. The cantina looks rather nice and has a fresher feel than its predecessor. Because this is Stokes Croft, it wouldn’t quite feel complete without some street art about the place, and this building has always had art and tags.
Jody, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2019
Who better to adorn this new outlet than Bristol’s Jody. Here he gives one of his beautiful portrait pieces which blends into the graffiti that pre-existed on the wall in a thoughtful and sensitive way, giving the whole thing an air of credibility rather than whitewashing and starting afresh.
Jody, Stokes Croft, Bristol, March 2019
This is a piece that will be missed by many, because although it is new, it looks like it has been here for ever. Very beautiful, very clever.
This was my favourite wall from Upfest 2018 and it was the first time it had been painted by street artists. I love it that every year, the organisers of the festival find new places for artists to paint, especially as these pieces on permanent walls live long after the festival ends.
Michel Velt, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
This is a gorgeous collaboration between Michel Velt and Elafil. The stunning portrait is bt Michel Velt, an artist from the Netherlands. I cannot tell you how much I admire this piece, it has such life and emotion in it – I feel like I could speak to the woman portrayed. Beautiful without being over-photorealistic if you know what I mean.
Elafil, Upfest, Bristol, July 2018
Elafil painted probably my favourite piece of the 2018 festival and here he gives us a little extra piece of 3D writing just for good measure. It is clear he had some paint left over from his piece in South Street Park to use in this fine collaboration. I love, love , love this wall.
I cannot think of a period in the four or so years that I have been writing about Bristol street art where there have been so many ‘new’ entrants into the painting scene. One such artist is Diced Mango who once on my radar only a few months ago is now producing pieces on a regular basis in several spots around the city.
Diced Mango, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2019
This recent piece in St Werburghs tunnel combines a character with writing, a format common amongst graffiti writers. The portrait is naively drawn with Diced Mango’s trademark coloured ‘string’ hair.
Diced Mango, St Werburghs, Bristol, February 2019
The writing in gold is in a rather nice organic form. I think there is a lot more to come from this artist and I am looking forward to seeing how his work develops over the coming months and years.
I think that this piece by AKA Jimmy C is another one that falls into the category of ‘recently done, just in time for my visit to Shoreditch’. It is a touching painting of a man carrying a child with fatherly affection and care. As with all AKA Jimmy C pieces it is painted using tiny spots of paint to make up the whole – pointillism graffiti.
AKA Jimmy C, Shoreditch, London, November 2018
I had walked past this charming piece and it was only when I turned back, checking for traffic, that I saw it. It goes to show that in this game you really do need to keep your wits about you. This is a sensational piece and simply adds to the enormous spectrum of street art.
In this game it is sometimes hard to work out whether artists are new to the scene or whether you have simply not seen any of their work before. Diced Mango very much fits into this category for me.
Diced Mango, M32 Spot, Bristol, January 2019
I only became aware of the artist a few weeks ago, and posted his piece in Dean Lane, and now, so soon afterwards, I found another one, this time in the M32 Spot. It is another portrait, painted in a rather naive style and with the bright colours that seem to be a feature of his work. I am looking forward to following the progress of Diced Mango and finding out a little bit more about the artist.
Natural adventures 